


Applause

by sociallyawkward_fics



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: (cuz Klaus is just barely mentioned), Canonical Character Death, Concerts, Gen, I mean BARELY, Pre-Canon, Sibling Love, Violins, also when I say Klaus is barely mentioned, come to tumblr and send me Klaus prompts, drug mention, like platonically, no beta we die like men, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 08:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19059259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sociallyawkward_fics/pseuds/sociallyawkward_fics
Summary: Sometimes Ben sneaks away from Klaus for a few hours, just long enough to see her play.





	Applause

**Author's Note:**

> Just a few notes!  
> 1) This is the first thing I've written/posted in what feels like forever  
> 2) I did not get this beta'd and only barely edited after writing it at like midnight a couple weeks ago  
> 3) I have never written for this fandom before  
> So if it sucks I'm sorry lol

She played beautifully, Ben thought. She always had.

He doubted any of the others had attended her concerts to know this, much less actually listened to her when they were children. But Ben refused to be like them.

Even after she published that book, even after the rest of the family had decided they were done with her for good, Ben wasn’t abandoning his sister.

Not more than he already had, at least.

And Klaus could last a couple of hours without Ben functioning as his impulse control, he always did. It’s not like he actively listened to Ben’s nagging anyway. 

And sometimes he was too lost in his high to even realize Ben was still there, fighting desperately to hold on to him against the high that drowned out the rest of the dead.

So Ben could afford a few hours to drift away, to see his sister play again.

And she had always played so beautifully.

The gift of music, the only thing their father had ever given her, and she latched onto it and excelled, just like Ben always knew she would.

But she could be better, he thought. He  _ knew _ . She could be better.

There was something holding her back. He could see it in the way she held herself, slightly less sure than the other musicians, always much more nervous, less emotion going into the way she played.

Third chair was nothing to laugh at, he was sure, but she could get first, he knew she could. And he hoped one day she would. She deserved it.

But there was something holding her back.

And Ben applauded as loud as he could when the concert finished, ignoring the pang in his chest as he remembered she would never hear him. Never even know that he came to see her, to cheer her on, to support her.

But he applauded. Because she deserved that, and so much more.

None of them deserved what Reginald Hargreeves had given them, but least of all Vanya.

But he believed they could move past it, Vanya most of all.

She would do great things someday.

He just knew it.

And that day, it wouldn’t be just Ben applauding.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little drabble!   
> I just got back from a roadtrip so I'm far too exhausted to link my tumblr, but you can find me at sociallyawkward--fics there! I take prompts sometimes when I can actually get my butt into gear and write, so feel free to check me out!  
> Thanks again! Let me know what you thought!


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